At Elementa, flooring is often the first material chosen and the foundation everything else is built around. It’s a decision we returned to on our recent residential project at Four Seasons Abu Dhabi, where wooden flooring became essential to creating a warm, home-like atmosphere within a large-scale space. For this piece, we sat down with Metre Squared, whose flooring collections made that project possible, to talk about designing floors that are both original and built to last.

Your flooring goes very broad, we love to source for not only wooden flooring, but also for softer flooring like vinyl which we often use in our projects that includes a gym. We personally love the flooring called Belgiqa. While every project is unique, and clients have their different expectations, is there a common line you see across all projects?

The common thread across every project is getting the right product for the space. It’s not just about how a floor looks; it needs to work for the way that space is going to be used and continue to perform over time.

That’s why having a broad range is important to us. A residential project might call for the warmth and natural character of wood, while a gym or commercial space may need something softer, more durable or easier to maintain. We’re able to look at the project as a whole and recommend what makes sense for each area.

Belgiqa is a great example. Designers are often drawn to it for its warmth and natural character, but every project is different. It really comes down to understanding the space, how it will be used and what the designer wants to achieve.

Your stunning flooring speaks for itself, a solid foundation for success. How do you convey and adapt this approach to the UAE market within the luxury residential sector?

Metre Squared is a well-known and trusted brand and often one of the first choices people consider. For a brand like yours, where on the one hand you want to be seen as original and on the other hand as innovative and modern, is it a challenge when working on new flooring collaborations? Speaking of which, what can we expect for your upcoming flooring collab?

Being original and being innovative go hand in hand. We’ve built strong relationships with consultants, designers and architects over the years, so we have a good understanding of what they’re looking for, but we’re also constantly exploring new materials, finishes and ideas.

There’s plenty happening behind the scenes with our upcoming collaboration. We can’t reveal too much just yet, but we’re looking forward to sharing it very soon.

Four Seasons Abu Dhabi

For this project in Four Seasons Abu Dhabi, we created a warm and home-like environment. Wooden floors are an essential element to create harmony in big spaces like this. The neutral palette of the LVT wooden flooring collection blends perfectly with the interior.

Large luxury residences often mean vast, open floor areas, yet the brief is still to feel warm and personal underfoot, not showroom-like. How do you approach colour and grain consistency in an LVT collection so a neutral palette reads as considered rather than repetitive across a space this size, and where does batch-to-batch variation start to become a problem?

We ensure that our LVT collections have the right balance of consistency and natural variation. Particularly across a large space, you want the colour palette to feel cohesive, but you still need enough variation in the grain and tone to avoid the floor feeling repetitive.

For a project like Four Seasons Abu Dhabi, the neutral palette works because those subtle differences create a natural flow across the space while still keeping the overall look warm and balanced. We also pay close attention to batch consistency, especially on larger projects, so there are no noticeable shifts in colour or tone between adjoining areas.

Complementing Elementa’s brand and design vision, we often design from the inside out. We believe Belgiqa specifically can be used for both interiors and outdoors. This can make such a tremendous difference, as these projects end up with an incredible flow, a seamless blend between inside and out. Very few flooring lines genuinely perform both indoors and outdoors without compromise. What has to change on the production side, in finish, slip resistance, UV stability, so Belgiqa holds the same warmth and colour whether it’s laid in a living room or on an exposed terrace? And where, honestly, does that seamlessness start to break down?

The key is understanding that the same look doesn’t necessarily mean using exactly the same product. Indoors, the focus might be on the natural warmth, tone and finish of the wood, whereas an exposed terrace brings very different requirements in terms of UV exposure, moisture, temperature and slip resistance.

Our role is to make sure the right product and finish are specified for each environment while keeping the transition between the two as visually consistent as possible. Belgiqa gives designers a great deal of flexibility in terms of colour and finish, which helps create that continuity.

There will always be a point where performance has to take priority over achieving a completely seamless match, particularly in fully exposed outdoor areas. The aim is to make that transition feel intentional, rather than forcing one material to perform in conditions it wasn’t designed for.

Diane, FF&E designer, shares her perspective on the design process and the inspiration behind choosing wooden flooring: selecting floors is about balancing aesthetics and functionality, with the main aim of achieving the enduring appeal of natural materials, most often through wooden floors that age gracefully over time. “For our projects, our clients are often asking for something timeless. A timeless floor starts with responsible materials and production methods,” she says. By working with Metresquared, a partner who prioritises this, they can ensure the flooring doesn’t just last for decades, but is produced with care for the environment.

Diane talks about timelessness starting with responsible materials. What does “responsible” actually mean on your side, from forest to finished plank? What do you look for in a source, and how much of that story can you trace and prove when a designer asks for it?

For us, responsible sourcing starts with the brands we choose to work with. We look at where materials come from, how they are sourced and how much transparency there is throughout the supply chain.

Across brands such as Belgiqa, Havwoods, BOEN, Parador and BerryAlloc, there is a strong focus on responsibly managed forests, traceability and recognised certification such as FSC® and PEFC where applicable. Many also provide supporting documentation, including Chain of Custody certification and environmental product information.

That becomes particularly important when we’re working with designers on projects with specific sustainability requirements. If they ask where a product has come from or for the documentation behind it, we want to be able to provide a clear answer. For us, that transparency is a big part of what responsible sourcing means.

Plank widths and finishes

Metresquared offers a variety of plank widths and finishes to suit different interior styles. With that range on offer, how do you guide a designer through the choice? Is there a rule of thumb for how plank width should scale with room size or ceiling height, and how do you steer a client away from a finish that photographs beautifully but won’t wear the way they expect?

There isn’t one strict rule when it comes to plank width, but proportion is important. Wider and longer planks can work beautifully in larger, open spaces, while more compact rooms may benefit from a different scale. Ceiling height, natural light, layout and the direction of the floor all play a part in that decision.

When it comes to finishes, we look beyond how something appears in a sample or photograph and consider how the space will actually be used. Footfall, maintenance, sunlight and the overall lifestyle of the client are all important. Our role is to guide designers towards a finish that achieves the look they want, but will also age and perform in the way they expect.

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